MovieChat Forums > Adventures of Superman (1952) Discussion > "The Unknown People"

"The Unknown People"

posted 7 years ago by grizzledgeezer
3 replies | jump to latest

I've seen this (and the movie) several times. But it was not until a day ago that I noticed something comic in what is otherwise a deadly serious story. As the mob gathers to find the alien critters and kill them, one of the townspeople pulls a barber pole off a building's wall to use as a weapon!

The story itself is an obvious frontal assault on McCarthyism, and it pulls no punches.

Do I need to point out that, in the nearly 70 years since this film was made, nothing has changed? Note how the hospital's head (who ought to be a rational scientist) shows utter contempt for the aliens. The "good" doctor (who removes the bullet) says the creatures would be an interesting part of his study on brain size. This reflects the long-discredited belief that brain size and "intelligence" are related. * (The mole men apparently have very large brains.)

Also note that the mob leader is played by Jeff Corey, a "notorious" Hollywood liberal. He would play a similar role in Star Trek's "The Cloud Minders".

* Bats and parrots are highly intelligent, but have "small" brains.

[–] ZurichGnome 7 years ago

The "good" doctor (who removes the bullet) says the creatures would be an interesting part of his study on brain size. This reflects the long-discredited belief that brain size and "intelligence" are related.

Did he actually say beings with larger brains are smarter? Or did he just say they would be an interesting part of his study on brain size?

parrots are highly intelligent, but have "small" brains.

Yes, parrots appear to be about as intelligent as a five-year-old child, although they have the communication skills of about a two-year-old child.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke

[–] grizzledgeezer 7 years ago

Did he actually say beings with larger brains are smarter? Or did he just say they would be an interesting part of his study on brain size?

The latter. The point is that he brought it up at all.

Mole Men is (by current standards) an extremely left-wing film. That most of its positions should be ones that no intelligent, thoughtful person -- regardless of their politics -- should disagree with, makes us wonder why it was made in the first place. *

Superman disarms the mob, saying that its failure to behave responsibly shows they shouldn't have weapons.

I never thought I'd be spending my retirement worrying about (and fighting, when possible) the re-emergence of Fascism.

* The answer to that implied question is "Joseph McCarthy".

[–] ZurichGnome 7 years ago

The latter. The point is that he brought it up at all.

Then he was just expressing scientific curiosity about alien creatures with really large heads, not necessarily implying anything about the correlation between brain size and intelligence. Maybe their large brains had unusual capabilities quite apart from superior intelligence. E.g., telepathy, superior hearing, etc. Seems pretty tame and uncontroversial to me, and not necessarily implying anything about intelligence.

makes us wonder why it was made in the first place. *

* The answer to that implied question is "Joseph McCarthy".

Yes, "Joseph McCarthy" is one obvious answer to that implied question. Therefore it shouldn't make us wonder why it was made in the first place, since several of the people associated with this film were known to be left wing, including Jeff Corey, who was blacklisted by Hollywood in 1951 (the film's release year) after he ran afoul of the HUAC.

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. - Arthur C. Clarke